A flicker of annoyance crossed Paige Summers’ brow.

’I was wrong after all,’ she thought. ’Even if Graham Monroe forbade Shawn Monroe from interfering with the auction, as the Young City Lord, he’s bound to have special privileges!’

’And I’m sure I won’t be the one who benefits in the end!’

She slammed the button on her bidding device, and the price suddenly shot up. "Guest 73 bids two Fifth Order Crystal Cores!"

The atmosphere in the auction hall was electric.

A faint smile touched Nora Lowell’s lips. Shawn Monroe’s move had finally put her at ease.

Bidding for this earring with the bravado of the newly rich was putting a lot of pressure on her. It wasn’t that she couldn’t afford the current price, but frankly, it felt like she was cutting off a piece of her own flesh. After all, though her father was the City Lord of Norgate, she was so out of favor that the resources she received were pitifully few—far from what her station demanded. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have accepted Crystal Cores from her uncle and ended up staying in that small furniture shop.

’If that stupid woman over there keeps raising the price, the outcome... is really hard to say.’

She refused to entertain the thought that she couldn’t outbid Paige Summers, telling herself the woman was just recklessly squandering Marcus Monroe’s affection.

She bit her lower lip unconsciously.

In truth, her willingness to bleed herself dry for this earring wasn’t a rash impulse.

It was a strange intuition—the moment she saw it, she knew it was meant to be hers.

By the time Shawn Monroe returned, Nora Lowell, under immense pressure, had raised the price to two Fifth Order Crystal Cores and fifty Fourth-stage Crystal Cores. On the auction stage, however, the auctioneer received a message that baffled him. He had no choice but to announce, "The owner of the earring has withdrawn the item at the last minute. After a brief consultation, we have decided to nullify this auction!"

The crowd erupted in an uproar.

It wasn’t unheard of, but it was certainly rare.

Just when things were getting good, it all fell apart. It was the absolute worst!

In the private suite, Paige Summers shot to her feet and turned on Shawn Monroe. "This was your doing, wasn’t it!"

Shawn Monroe settled back into his seat with a smirk. "And so what if it was? I thought we agreed it was every man for himself. Nora wants that earring, so naturally, I’m going to be of service." His gaze swept over Marcus Monroe’s impassive face, a silent sneer in his heart, before landing back on Paige Summers. He said haughtily, "Some things in this world can’t be bought with Crystal Cores, no matter how many you have. You’d do well to think about that."

’Think about it my ass!’ Paige thought furiously. ’Isn’t this just throwing your weight around?!’

Paige Summers’s lips tightened, a vicious glint in her eyes. She slowly sat back down, but her hand was already reaching for her pocket.

A large, strong hand intercepted hers, enveloping her smaller one in a firm grip.

Marcus Monroe leaned in and whispered in her ear, "Patience."

She stubbornly tried to pull her hand away, but he refused to let go. At last, he sighed. "I promise..." A promise that what she wanted would be hers in the end.

Paige Summers took a few deep breaths before relaxing her grip.

’I’ll trust him one more time,’ she decided. ’But if he fails, he can’t blame me for taking matters into my own hands. I don’t care whose son or whose brother anyone is—I’ve had enough! They think I’m a pushover? So I can’t save a life, but does that mean I can’t take one?! I’d rather face the vast, unknown world outside the city alone than stay here and be someone’s puppet!’

As she fumed in silence, Marcus Monroe watched her with a smile. His hand twitched, and he fought the overwhelming urge to pull her into his arms.

’How can she be so adorable?’ he wondered.

She completely shattered his perception of women.

He saw none of the things he’d come to expect: helpless weakness, timid endurance, arrogant belligerence, or thinly veiled vanity.

Instead, he saw independence, candor, and an authenticity that was utterly without pretense.

’It seems,’ he thought, ’I’m really starting to fall for her...’

Onstage, the next item up for auction quickly captured everyone’s attention. The commotion over the cancelled earring auction soon died down.

Only the four people in the private suite, each lost in their own thoughts, now paid little attention to the proceedings.

Before long, there was a knock at the door.

A representative from the auction house delivered a brocade box. Inside was the very same pair of earrings from the auction.

Shawn Monroe held the box, his smug satisfaction practically radiating from him.

He was so childish that instead of immediately giving it to the eager Nora Lowell, he dangled it in front of Marcus Monroe and Paige Summers. "It looks pretty average, if you ask me. I’ll never understand you women, fighting over something like this."

Paige Summers ignored him, her eyes fixed on Marcus Monroe.

Her gaze was pointed. ’I was patient. Now where’s that promise?’

Marcus Monroe smiled faintly and held out his hand. "We didn’t win it at auction, but you don’t mind if I take a look, do you?"

"Be my guest!"

Marcus Monroe took the brocade box, removed the pair of earrings, and placed them in his palm, studying them carefully. "The jade quality seems decent," he remarked, "but they’re a bit on the small side."

The other three were completely baffled.

Especially Paige Summers. ’Staring at it isn’t going to magically make it mine!’ she thought, exasperated.

But in the next instant, Marcus Monroe’s hand suddenly clenched shut. Paige Summers stared, dumbfounded, as she saw the veins on his wrist bulge with the effort.

Shawn Monroe shot to his feet while Nora Lowell shrieked, "What are you doing?!"

In the face of their reactions, Marcus Monroe’s lips curled into a smirk. He slowly, deliberately opened his hand. A fine powder lay in his palm.

He blew it away with a gentle puff, then looked up at the other two without a hint of sincerity. "Whoops," he said. "I guess I used a little too much force."